Electronic device



aa .a

y 17, 1960 w. R. AIKEN 2,937,315

ELECTRONIC DEVICE Filed Aug. 1, 1955 Mx l8 22 20 F/g. l Q

CATHODE RAY Fly. 2 ELECTRON TUBE I POWER f I SUPPLY I 26 -ELECTRON 25 GUN 2? POWER CATHODE RAY TUBE SUPPLY K Fly. 3. 25 26 CATHODE RIAY 4 TUBE ELECTRON sun POWER SUPPLY INVENTOR,

Will/am Ross Aiken ELECTRONIC DEVICE William Ross Aiken, Los Altos, cane, assignor, by memo assignments, to Kaiser Industries Corporation, a con poralion of Nevada Application August 1, 1955, Serial No. 525,649 10 Claims. (Cl. 315-47) The present invention is directed to a new and novel cathode ray tube, and particularly to a novel cathode ray tube including a novel electronic scanning arrangement.

The tube of the present invention is of the revolutione. ary tube type known in the art. as the Aiken-type flat cathode ray tube which has been disclosed in Patent.

2,795,731, which issued June 11, 1957, to W. R. Aiken.

The Aiken tube in its basic concepts, is comprised of a configuration which approximates that of a picture adapted for wall mounting, and is comparable in size and shape to a metropolitan telephone directory.

As illustrated in Figure 1, one embodiment of the.

Aiken tube (the so-called double bend tube disclosed more fully in the above identified applications) employs an electrostatic beam bending principle to bend an electron beam which is delivered along a marginal edge of thetube from such path through an angle of approximately 90, and thereafter a second set of electrostatic.

beam bending devices apply further forces to bend the beam approximately perpendicular to the second path and into registration with a target; Inasmuch as the electron beam has a considerable velocity as it leaves the gun. alongjits firstpath, the initial bending forces provided bythe electrostatic member may be less than is required to bend the beam through the full 90, and in such event the marginal edges of the display will be canted slightly relative to the vertical. In Patent No. 2,864,970 issued Dec. 16, 1958, to W. R. Aiken, there is described a mechanicalimethod for adjusting the marginal edges of the raster. The present invention relates to novel magnetic means and method for eflecting adjustment of the raster marginal edges. and particularly for simplifying the method,

relative disposition of one embodiment of the magnetic picture straightener.

Figure 4 is a front view of an Aiken tube' showing another embodiment of the magnetic picture straightener.

A general description of the configuration and operation of the Aiken tube in its most basic arrangement is set forth for the purpose of simplifying the explanation of the improvements to which this invention relates. The tube, as schematically shown in Figure 1, comprises a housing, not shown, within which are located an electron gun 12, a primary section 14, including a set of horizontal plates 16, a transition section (not shown in Figure l but located in the space indicated at 17), a high voltage section 18, including a set of vertical plates 20, and a target 22.

In operation, selected areas on the phosphor screen are electronically excited by the electron beam. In the illustration, the electron gun 12 is located at the lower left-hand corner of the viewing screen-and is adapted to deliver a beam along the lower horizontal edge of the United States Patent i phosphor screen in a field-free region adjacent the honi-:

level is achieved by effecting the application of voltages of appropriate Values to corresponding ones of the vertical deflection plates. Thus the position of the beam on the.

target may be controlled by the application of voltages to the corresponding ones of the horizontal and vertical deflection plates.

In the utilization of the equipment inthe presentation of a raster, the horizontal deflection plates are energized in a selective manner by a first set of voltages, and the vertical deflection plates are energized correspondingly by a second set of voltages synchronized with that applied to the horizontal deflection plates.

In one embodiment, the horizontal and vertical plates are kept at a high voltage except for those opposite. the position in which the beam is to be bent. In another embodiment, the horizontal and vertical plates are negative, and are synchronically energized at the pointer which the beam deflection is desired. '.It .isobvious to those skilled in the art that one set of plates may be initially negative and the other. set of plates may be initially positive, in which event the beam bending signals will-be varied accordingly.

Briefly, the manner of operation of the elements) in the use of the tube with a television receiver unit adapted to respond to.-commercial television broadcasts is as follows.

The horizontal sync pulses obtained from the video amplifier of a conventional television receiver chassis are applied through appropriate circuitry to the horizontal deflection plates to accomplish a line sweep in the conventional manner at the rate of approximately 260 lines per vertical sweep (assuming an interlaced trace arrangement) and the verticalsync pulses obtained fromthe video amplifier section of the conventionaljt'elevision receiver chassis are applied to the vertical deflectionplates to accomplish a vertical sweep each of-a secondf(30 pictures per second). The video amplifier output is applied to the cathode (or grid) of the electron gun whereby variations of the gun intensity resulting from the sig-' nals received at the television receiver appear as Vania-1 tions in intensity of the beam on the target and,paccord-' ingly, effects the presentation of the picture transmitte by the television station. 1

The electron beam has a considerable velocitywhen it leaves the electron gun and its deflectionby the hori zontal plates 16 which form the means formaking the first bend of the beam may not be suificient to bendthe, electron beam the full This eflect is attributable to.

the speed of the electron beam and can be graphically represented by a vector of the energy of the electron beam coupled with the deflection energy of the horizontal plate 16. In such event, the vertical marginal edges of the resultant television picture are canted.

The inventor has found that the beam. can .be adjusted to a path which is truly vertical to the horizontal with a minimum of equipment and electronic circuitry. .Specifically the inventor has employed a magnetic field sur-, rounding the transition section 17 of the tube just above the primary section 14 described generally in Figure l, and has found that by proper applicationof a magnetic field, the picture can be straightened to produceaj truly rectangular display.

2,937,315 Patented May 17, 1960 Deflection of the beam ,onto the screen at the vertical.

More specifically with particular reference to Figure 2, there is shown an electromagnetic member having elon gate legs or pole pieces 23 adapted to extend the entire length of an Aiken flat tube. The magnet is energized by an electrical winding 26 adapted to bewound about.

thebase 21' of themagnet and in turn connected to a power supply. In one successful embodiment of the invention, it was found that verysatisfactory results were obtained by employing a magneticfield strength of from I to 300 gauss.

In practice it has been found that thereis a tendency for the electron beam tobendupwardly toward section 18 at its end farthest from the electron gun. For thisreason, it is sometimes desirable to provide a smaller magnetic force at that" end than at the end nearest the gun; In the embodiment shown in Figure 3, the difference in magnetic" field intensity was successfully obtained" by forming the magnet in' such a fashion that thelegs 25 of the magnet are spaced closer'together' in the" regionclose to the electron gun than the spacing between thelegs at" the opposite end.

Figure 4 shows another embodiment of the magnetic picture straightener wherein the pole pieces 28 are made larger at the end nearest the electron gun in order to increase the magneticfield. This is an alternative to the method. employed in Figure 3' wherein the ends of thepole pieces were placed closer together at the end nearest the electron gun.

In practice, the magnet maybe tilted with respect tothe" horizontal deflection elements in order to achieve the proper adjustment of the resultant display; In some instances, the mechanical tilting oftheelectromagnet' will amplyserve' tocorre'ct' for any distortionor non-rectangularity of the. television picture without requiring adjustmentofthe spacing of the legs of the magnet along its length in the manner ofv the showing in Figure 3,. or the" altering of the configuration of the. magnetic legs as in theemb'odiment shown in. Figure 4.

In operation, the magnet is energized by thepower supply and thereby establishes a magnetic field which aids the horizontal deflection elements in the bending of the beam throughthe full 90 angle. The electron beam will then travel along a path perpendicular to its initial path of travel as it emerges from the electron gun.

It will be obvious to. those skilled in the art that a permanent magnet having the proper magnetic field intensity maybe successfully employed without avoiding the scope of the invention or necessitatingv additional research to. practice the teachings of the invention.

What is claimed is:

I. In an electron discharge device, an electron beam sourcefor delivering a beam along-a given path, a first deflection means disposed along a segment of said beam path for applying deflection forces to said beam to selectively bendsame from said path at successive different intervals along said segment, and auxiliary deflection means. disposed coextensive with said path segment and operable to apply deflection forces to said segment of the beam which are of difl'erent values at said successive different intervals, said auxiliary deflection means being operable to provide a field of a first relativelyv large value at the intervals of said segment which lies closer to said source andforces of decreasing value at the intervals of said segmentwhich are successively removed from said source, whereby the beam is bent from said segment through the same angle at said successive intervals of said segment.

2. An electron discharge device, an. electron beam source for delivering a beam along, an initial. path, a first deflectionmeans disposed adjacent one side of a segment of. said. beam path for applying deflection forces to said beamto. efiect selective deflection of the beam. from Suecessive intervals of said path segment, and auxiliary deflection means comprising, at leastv a pair of spaced magnetic. members. which are disposed in facing spaced relation on a second and third side of said segment of said beam path to establish a field therebetween which extends across the path of travel of the beam to further aid said first deflection means in the deflection of the beam from said path, said pair of magnetic members and said first deflection means extending substantially coextensively along said respective sides of said path segment.

3. A cathode ray tube comprising a target, an electron beam source means for delivering a beam of electrons along a marginal edge of said target, a first means for applying forces into the beam for deflecting the beam into a zone adjacent-.saidtarget, at second means for. applying magnetic forces to increase the angle of deflection efiected by said first means, and a third mcansfor applying forces to the beam causing the beam to be deflected from said zone toward and into registration with said target.

4. A cathode ray tubecomprising a target, an electron beam source means for delivering a beam of electrons alonga marginal edge of said target, means operable to selectively deflect thebeam to a zone adjacent a surface of said target, magnetic means disposed relative to said last mentioned means to effect supplemental deflectionof the beam, and means operable to selectively deflect the beam from said" zonetoward and into impingement with said target.

5. A cathode ray tube in accordance with claim 4: inwhich said magnetic means is disposed relative to the means operable to selectively deflect the" beam to a zone adjacent a surface'of said target in a plane not parallel to said last-mentionedmeans.

6. A cathode ray'tube comprising a' target, an electron beam source means for delivering a beam of electrons along a path in spaced ofiset and substantially parallel relation with respect toa marginal edge" of said target, means for applying electrostatic forces to the beam from said path for deflectingthe beam' to a zone adjacent saidtarget, magnetic means operative to increase the angl'e of deflection of thebeam, and means for applying forces to the beam causing, the beam tobe deflected from said zone toward and into registration with said target;

7. A cathode ray tube in accordance with claim 6- wherein said magnetic means comprises a magnet having its pole pieces formed so. as to be closer' together at the end nearest said electron beam source than at the other" end.

8'. A cathode. ray tube in accordance with claim 6' wherein said magnetic means comprises a magnet having its pole pieces formed larger at the" end nearest said electron beam source than at the other end;

9. A cathode ray tube comprising a target, an electron beam source means for delivering a beam of electrons along a marginal edge of said target, a deflection set for applying deflectingforces to the beam to cause thebeamto travel to a zone adjacent a surface of said target, a U-shaped magnet disposedwith its legs disposed on opposite sides of. said deflection set to increase the angle of deflection of the beam, and means operable to selectively deflect the beam from said zone and into impingement with said target.

10. A cathode ray tube in. accordance with claim 9 wherein said u-shapedi magnet is of diminishing: width along its length to thereby establish a stronger magneticfield at one of its-extremities than at the other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,163,787 Henneberg' June: 27, 19-39: 2 ,211,613 Bowie Aug; 1 3, 1940 2,243,102 Klemperer May '27, 1941: 2,289,319 Strobel July 7, 1942 2,348,133 lams May 2; 1944 2,395,647 Strobel Feb; '26, 1946: 2,513,742 Pinciroli July"4,- 9536 2,563,807 Alfvcn Aug; I4, 1954.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 2,937,315 May 17, 1960 William Ross Aiken It is herebfir certified that error appears in the-printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below.

Column 4, line 11, for "into", first occurrence, read to lines 35 and 36, strike out "from said path" and insert the same after "beam" in line 36, same column 4.

Signed and sealed this 22nd day of November 1960.

(SEAL) Attest:

ROBERT C. WATSON KARL H. AXLI NE Attesting Oflicer Commissioner of Patents UNITED STATES A PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 2,937,315 .May 17, 1960 William Ross Aiken It is hereby certified that error appears in the-printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction and that the said Letters Patent should read as corrected below..

Column 4, line 11, for "into", first occurrence, read to lines 35 and 36, strike out "from said path" and insert the same afte1c"beam" in line 36, same column 4.

Signed and sealed this 22nd day of November 1960.

(SEAL) Attest:

ARL H. AXLINE ROBERT C; WATSON A ttesting Officer Commissioner of Patents 

